Ipsilon Networks Inc, the San Jose newcomer that introduced the concept of switching Internet Protocol traffic at Layer 2 over Asynchronous Transfer Mode networks, says it plans to release a switch targeted at the Internet transmission market by the end of the year. Ipsilon claims that its Internet Protocol switching products offer router functionality but at a cost about 50% less than a traditional router; the privately-held company told an investment conference that it has 50 customers and products included 150 systems. It also said sales have progressed well in the 11 months since it shipped its first product last April and expects to be profitable by late this year or early next year. Ipsilon hopes to obtain the Internet Engineering Task Force’s blessing for its IP switching format; it is in competition with Cisco Systems Inc’s tag switching standard, which enables ATM switches to perform some router functions, which has met with less than enthusiastic approval, with sceptics saying it does little to improve network performance.
